"tier 5" power supply but...

Dreadcoat63 · Dec 18, 2016

I completed my first build back in october of last year. My PSU is a part i skimped on the most because at the time i figured 500 watts is 500 watts. The PSU is a coolmax zx 500. This is technically considered a "never buy" PSU according to a guide ive read on here. However i have to say for over a year this little thing has gone strong without a single problem powering an i7 6700, 8gb of ram, a zotac gtx 970, two seperate drives and so on. So my question is if I upgrade to the gtx 1070 and 16gb of ram, i should still be fine correct? According to a power supply calculator id only be running a mere 4 watts with the set up (although i imagine its not perfectly accurate).
I am well aware of the importance of a good power supply however if i havent had any problems for quite a long time of heavy use, is it safe to continue trusting it?

Isokolon · Dec 18, 2016

The thing with poor quality PSUs is, they don't fail immediately. If they would, they wouldn't sell.
The thing with poor quality PSUs is that they can potentially fail at any time, that they degrade way faster than quality supplies and usually don't have the necessary safe guards.

That means that if you buy a 500W PSU it could in fact only be able to deliver 480W. But after a year or two it might degrade to only be able to put out 400W effectively or even less. The higher stress might cause the PSU to fail in year No. 3 and because of missing safe guards or general insufficient quality it doesn't go out with a boom suddenly but fries your CPU&board maybe catches fire (rarely but it occurs)

JohnnyGuru did a test once to prove the point that low quality PSUs should be avoided.
No he didn't burn down his house with the unit but still experienced some issues.

So yeah, in terms of wattage it will be fine.
Could be powering this system for years to.come
Could just shut off one day.
Could go out with a boom one day. Could.go out as soon as you connect a new card (have read that several times with Corsair's budget lines f.e.).
No way to tell. If 60$ is worth that risk to you you can try it. Personally I wouldn't do it but I might be a bit snobby about PSUs

rgd1101 · Dec 18, 2016

The tier mean it compare quality of the components and the assembly quality. If you want to take a chance of it failing

DSzymborski · Dec 18, 2016

Your very premise is flawed - you have no idea whether your PSU is "going strong," you only know that it hasn't failed in a dramatic fashion. Poor quality power supplies affect your PC in a lot of ways. For example, poor ripple suppression can slowly damage the electrolytic capacitors in all your components and shorten their eventual lifespan. Someone who has smoked for 40 years isn't in the clear if they don't happen to have cancer at that point. Higher quality PSUs are also far less likely to take out the rest of your equipment when something *does* fail.

Buying a $400 PSU while running it on a junk PSU is the equivalent of blinging out your car while the brakes are shot. It's your money and your risk, but you won't find many people covering you here with a green light.

Dreadcoat63 · Dec 18, 2016

DSzymborski :

I was merely asking the question to get the opinions of others to decide what I should do with it. I make no claim to be extremely knowledgeable in this at all. Thanks a lot for the reply, you and everyone else, but I never expected anyone to cover me here. Just a question.

Hlsgsz · Dec 18, 2016

Do yourself a favor and don't do it, OP. This is the sort of thing you may end up sourly regretting later. And i mean sourly as in with a fried system that no manufacturer would cover in warranty. It is simply not worth the risk unless, well, you're rolling in cash and you can afford such disasters. But if that were the case..
A smart man once said "I'm too poor to afford to buy cheap stuff".

Dreadcoat63 · Dec 18, 2016

Hlsgsz :

Thanks for the reply. I think ill go ahead and get myself a new one then. Id rather be safe than sorry for sure. Thanks a lot!

Hlsgsz · Dec 18, 2016

You're welcome! What would be your budget?

very good, but older and not teh quietest: http://pcpartpicker.com/product/nB3RsY/seasonic-power-supply-s12ii620bronze

excellent: http://pcpartpicker.com/product/9q4NnQ/evga-power-supply-220g20650y1

is teh EVGA worth the extra? yes, definitely. top quality for a decent price and modular.

Dreadcoat63 · Dec 18, 2016

Hlsgsz :

Sadly because of where I live i can not order anything in as itd be stolen in a heartbeat. So i am limited to what i can get at the my local best buy.
I suppose as lomg as its under 100 USD it should be within budget. Currently a EVGA 850BQ and Corsair CX 750 i could get. I suppose the higher wattage would be nice in case i can SLI one day. Are either of those psu's good?

Isokolon · Dec 18, 2016

The CX is poor. The BQ a little bit better but still poor.
Does your local shop have a website where they show the products available?

Hlsgsz · Dec 18, 2016

Isokolon :

Seconded. There should be waaaaay better options under 100.

Dreadcoat63 · Dec 18, 2016

Isokolon :

Darn that isnt good. It does but sadly those would be my best options from whats available as the other choices are either lower wattage than what i currently have or inisgnia brand (best buys great value). I may not know much but i know better than to power a gaming pc with one of those lol.

Hlsgsz · Dec 18, 2016

- anything seasonic
- corsair CXM 450,550,650(and not the rest of them)
- antec true power classic
- Antec High Current Gamer
- anything superflower in principle, but do check back first
-Rosewill 550W 80+ Platinum Certified
- XFX TS series

Dreadcoat63 · Dec 18, 2016

Hlsgsz :

Sadly none are really available to me here.
Im very limited to what i can grab here in store. I suppose ill just keep yhose in mind and wait for an in store pickup. Thanks a ton for the help. Is there a specific reason to not go with the EVGA 600W or Evga 850 bq? Reviews i read seem to say theyre safe just not great for high power consumption builds. Mine is only going to be pulling 350 probably at the most.

Isokolon · Dec 18, 2016

They use weak caps and don't have the best regulation.
The BQ is a bit better than the EVGA 600W.
Both lack some of the safeguards if I'm not mistaken.

Dreadcoat63 · Dec 18, 2016

Isokolon :

Ah okay I understand. Thanks

Hlsgsz · Dec 19, 2016

Dreadcoat63 :

Yes, you can safely go for teh BQ for your wattage draw. You should keep in mind that it's on the noisy side, but since you seem to have no beef with the PSU you're using now, i'm guessing it's not that big of a deal for you. Otherwise, try to have the store order up one of teh PSUs i listed or an EVGA GQ.
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/evga-bq-series-850w-psu,review-33736-11.html

Dreadcoat63 · Dec 19, 2016

Hlsgsz :

Dreadcoat63 :

Yes, you can safely go for teh BQ for your wattage draw. You should keep in mind that it's on the noisy side, but since you seem to have no beef with the PSU you're using now, i'm guessing it's not that big of a deal for you. Otherwise, try to have the store order up one of teh PSUs i listed or an EVGA GQ.
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/evga-bq-series-850w-psu,review-33736-11.html

Great! Yea my current psu is rather loud lol. I appreciate the help

"tier 5" power supply but...

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